We were losing. The tide of demons seemed endless, their grotesque forms surging through the square, leaving destruction in their wake. Each swing of my Shadow Sword cut through flesh, but for every demon that fell, two more seemed to take its place. My mana was dwindling—down to 231, then 214, now hovering at 201. I could feel the exhaustion creeping in, my body growing heavier with every movement. Around me, the others fought valiantly, but fatigue was setting in. Cuts and wounds marred their bodies, their faces drawn tight with pain and desperation.

"Fall back!" Lareth's voice cut through the chaos. His face was bloodied, his armor dented from countless blows. "We can't hold the square! Fall back into the village!"

For a split second, I hesitated, my instincts screaming to stay and fight. But one look at the villagers, their terrified faces as they were cut down by the demons, forced me to move. We couldn’t win this—not like this. I turned and sprinted toward the village gates, my legs burning with effort as we made our hasty retreat. The remaining warriors and villagers followed, many of them stumbling from their wounds.

Behind us, the demons roared, their heavy footsteps pounding against the ground as they gave chase. Arrows whistled through the air, fired by the village’s archers from atop the wooden barricades, but it was barely enough to slow the onslaught. By the time we reached the village center, the grim reality of our situation had fully set in. We had to regroup, to plan—anything but this blind fighting.

Inside the village hall, the atmosphere was heavy with exhaustion and defeat. Lareth slammed his fist against the wooden table in frustration. “We can’t keep fighting like this. If we don’t come up with something soon, we’re finished.”

I stood next to him, still catching my breath, my hand resting on the hilt of my Shadow Sword, now reabsorbed into the darkness around me. My mana was slowly recovering, sitting at 210 now, but it wouldn’t be enough. Not for what was to come.

Claire, my mother, looked at me with worry in her eyes, her battle-scarred face softened with concern. “We need to find a way to thin their numbers,” she said, her voice low but steady. “If we keep meeting them head-on, we’ll just exhaust ourselves.”

My father, Caross, a veteran B-rank adventurer, nodded in agreement. “Their numbers are too great for a frontal assault. We need to be smarter about this, use the terrain to our advantage.” He traced a finger along the map of the village that lay spread out before us. "We can funnel them here, at this narrow pass. Set up traps, use earth and nature magic to slow them down."

Love this story? Find the genuine version on the author's preferred platform and support their work!

Isonorai, the elven mage who had been training me, spoke up, her voice calm but urgent. "We need to utilize the magic users better. Right now, we're scattered, fighting individually. If we combine our power, we can create a barrier to slow their advances and maybe thin their ranks before they reach us again."

The village elder, an old man with a deep furrowed brow, nodded grimly. “We have some reserves of explosive materials hidden in the village. We could use them to set traps along the main roads, collapse some of the structures to create blockades.”

I scanned the room, taking in the tired faces of the warriors and magic users. Some of them were barely standing, their bodies battered from the fight, but there was no room for weakness now. "We don’t have much time," I said, my voice hoarse. "They’ll be here soon, and if we’re going to hold them off, we need to act now."

The villagers murmured in agreement, but I could sense the fear in the air. This was a battle for survival, not only for himself but his fellow friends and villagers. Who stood bravely on the battlefield to help us fight against the demon tyranny.

Lareth stood straighter, his resolve hardening. "We’ll divide into teams. Sam, Isonorai, you lead the magic users to create the barrier. Claire, Caross, take the village warriors and set up traps along the roads. I’ll organize the archers and prepare the fallback line at the barricade."

There was a pause as everyone absorbed the plan. It wasn’t perfect, but it was all we had.

“Let’s hope it’s enough,” I muttered, my mind already racing ahead to the following battle. I could feel the weight of responsibility settling over me like a heavy cloak. We had to hold the line. There was no other option.

As the room began to empty, each group moving to their designated task, I felt a hand on my shoulder. I turned to see Isonorai standing beside me, her eyes filled with determination. "We’ll get through this, Sam," she said quietly, her voice firm. "But you need to pace yourself. You’ve used too much mana already. If you burn out too early, we lose our strongest asset."

I nodded, taking a deep breath as I steadied myself. "I know. I just hope we can keep this village standing long enough to make it matter."

We exchanged a brief look of understanding before moving toward the group of magic users gathered by the hall's entrance. The tension was thick, but there was a shared determination among us. This village, these people—they were counting on us to pull through. The demons weren’t going to stop until they’d torn everything apart, but we weren’t going to let them. Not without a fight.

The strategy was in place. Now all that was left was to see if it would be enough.